Next Race

Chiba 2017: Round of 8 Preview

The rounds are coming thick and fast today, here's how the Heats of the Round of 8 have panned out...

Heat 8Yoshihide Muroya vs Matt HallThe home race hero looked good in the Round of 14, but he has tougher competition going up against Matt Hall, and he might push too hard as he has to fly first in the track. The more time Matt Hall gets in his raceplane the better he gets. And he knows he can push harder if he needs to. But will he be able to break Japanese hearts?

Heat 9Petr Kopfstein vs Kirby ChamblissKopfstein came through as the Fastest Loser and looks Bonhomme-esque in the track. His time was very close to Chambliss' so it could be interesting. Chambliss is keen to repeat his success from Japan last year and he will be watching Kopfstein's time closely.

Heat 10Matthias Dolderer vs Pete McLeodThe World Champion is up against the fastest in Qualifying. This will be the heat everyone wants to watch. There was only 0.6 seconds between the two pilots so it will be a fascinating Heat 10.

Heat 11Michael Goulian vs Martin SonkaGoulian was the slowest pilot to get through to the Round of 8, but the competitive American will pull out all the stops to try and beat the track record holder. Martin Sonka has been flying perfectly all week, he was the fastest in the Round of 14 and looks to be in the same form as he was in Abu Dhabi. He will be the favourite to progress.